In early December 2007, the country prided itself on providing the world with a road map to check the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5NI. Containing the virus in Maharashtra in 2006 and in Manipur in 2007 gave health authorities sufficient cause for self-congratulation. Little more than a month later, authorities in West Bengal were caught unawares. A panoply of surveillance mechanisms could not detect avian influenza till it assumed threatening proportions. Fortunately there was no human casualty. MAUREEN NANDINI MITRA in West Bengal and VIBHA VARSHNEY in Delhi find out why things went awry